Bogotá, Colombia – Colombia said Tuesday some 12,000 security personnel will be deployed in October for the major UN biodiversity meeting in Cali, as the region faces a wave of guerrilla violence.
A total of 1,600 soldiers and 4,000 police will be sent to the city to join some 6,000 already deployed to fight guerrillas that have carried out a recent spate of bombings and gun attacks in the area, deputy defense minister Daniela Gomez told reporters.
The city of Cali, associated with a particularly violent chapter of Colombia’s deadly drug conflict, is due to host the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity from October 21 to November 1.
But a recent spate of attacks blamed on fighters of the Central General Staff (EMC) — a splinter group of the FARC guerrilla army which signed a peace deal with the government in 2016 — has authorities on edge.
The EMC is estimated to have about 3,500 armed fighters involved in the drug trade and illegal mining, as well as fighting both the military and criminal groups competing for trafficking routes and territory.
Last month, officials said EMC militants opened fire and set off cylinder bombs at a police station in the town of Morales, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Cali, killing two officers and two detainees in a “terrorist attack.”
On the same day as the Morales assault, three children and a civilian adult were injured when a motorcycle laden with explosives was detonated in the nearby municipality of Jamundi.
“We are very aware of the risks… Various operations have been carried out in recent months to prevent these threats from materializing,” said Gomez.
She added nearly half the armed personnel will be deployed in the Cali urban area for the conference.
Ana Maria Sanclemente, secretary for security of the Valle del Cauca department where the EMC is particularly active, said the military will carry out operations in the group’s “zones of influence” ahead of the COP.
The event hopes to attract some 12,000 delegates and exhibitors from around the world, as well as heads of state, to one of the world’s most biodiverse countries.